The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First in The Hunger Games trilogy

4.5 stars

The world is no longer as it is today. The Capitol owns and controls everything. Every year the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts to compete in a brutal game called the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the contestants are put in brutal and intense situations where they each fight for their life and only one person wins… and comes out alive. Katniss Everdeen is a hunter who lives in District 12. She provides food for her family by catching wild game and illegal trading. When Katniss’s sister, 12-year-old sister Primrose, is chosen to participate in the Games. She does the only thing she can to do to protect her family and offers herself as tribute in her sister’s place. She finds herself fighting alongside Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son, in a world that could destroy them. I was, I guess you could say a late bloomer when it came to finally getting my hands on The Hunger Games. Everyone had seemed to have read The Hunger Games at my school and I had already owned the box set, which I was greatly gifted with by my aunt for Christmas. I finally decided to pick it up two days before the movie’s release date. I now own the movie, but haven’t had the time to watch it since it’s only been in my possession for about a week. I do plan on watching the movie though, hopefully this weekend or month… sometime in the near future. This book was a last minute read and probably not a good idea since my mom wouldn’t take me to the movie (but I will be prepared for Warm Bodies and Beautiful, which I will read). The beginning was very slow. Let’s face it the Capitol was boring, but the descriptions were beautiful and brilliant. The descriptions being a plus for this book. I was expecting to either hate or love this book. I honestly wasn’t sure because it sounded appealing and interesting, but great ideas can be slaughtered with bad writing. This book and the concept for it weren’t slaughtered. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Let’s talk about the characters.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First in The Hunger Games trilogy

4.5 stars

The world is no longer as it is today. The Capitol owns and controls everything. Every year the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts to compete in a brutal game called the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the contestants are put in brutal and intense situations where they each fight for their life and only one person wins… and comes out alive. Katniss Everdeen is a hunter who lives in District 12. She provides food for her family by catching wild game and illegal trading. When Katniss’s sister, 12-year-old sister Primrose, is chosen to participate in the Games. She does the only thing she can to do to protect her family and offers herself as tribute in her sister’s place. She finds herself fighting alongside Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son, in a world that could destroy them. I was, I guess you could say a late bloomer when it came to finally getting my hands on The Hunger Games. Everyone had seemed to have read The Hunger Games at my school and I had already owned the box set, which I was greatly gifted with by my aunt for Christmas. I finally decided to pick it up two days before the movie’s release date. I now own the movie, but haven’t had the time to watch it since it’s only been in my possession for about a week. I do plan on watching the movie though, hopefully this weekend or month… sometime in the near future. This book was a last minute read and probably not a good idea since my mom wouldn’t take me to the movie (but I will be prepared for Warm Bodies and Beautiful, which I will read). The beginning was very slow. Let’s face it the Capitol was boring, but the descriptions were beautiful and brilliant. The descriptions being a plus for this book. I was expecting to either hate or love this book. I honestly wasn’t sure because it sounded appealing and interesting, but great ideas can be slaughtered with bad writing. This book and the concept for it weren’t slaughtered. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Let’s talk about the characters.


The main female character is Katniss Everdeen. Everyone with cable or access to the Internet knows who Katniss is because well she her face was plastered about months before the movie’s release date.
Katniss is a strong, well-rounded character. She’s a fighter and a survivor. The girls of Destiny’s Child would be proud.
I really do commend her strengths though. She could be considered a role model if you were looking for one in YA fiction. Did she make the best choice at the end of this book? No, but I can understand where she’s coming from and her confusion is understandable. Katniss is strong, but also caring. She does care about people even if at times in the Games it didn’t seem like it.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 10

The main male character is Peeta. I like Peeta a lot. He’s the nice guy, but he can hold his own in a battle. Am I Team Peeta or Team Gale? I’m undecided because I like them both so far even though Gale has only mentioned in memories. Peeta is a lot like Katniss in some ways. They share traits that aren’t always distinguishable, but it’s little things. Honestly, I can't decide how much I like him since I feel like I didn't really get to know him.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 8

The Villain- I think it’s the Capitol and the people in it. I’m not really going to into the politics of Panem. I’ll just wait until I read Catching Fire (which will be before the movie’s release date). The politics and politicians are sick though. A game used for punishment against the Districts with kids killing each other. It’s unsettling and scary, but mostly disturbing.


Villain Scale: 9

Gale, of course, who is a very big part of Katniss’s thoughts and a motivator for survival. Primrose, Katniss’s little sister, who Katniss sacrifices herself for. The contenders in the Game; my favorite was Rue.

Character Scale: 8.5

I will watch the movie. This is a way for me to finally do it and stop putting it off with my laziness. I enjoyed The Hunger Games and the sick games that were cleverly played with each other. I look forward to Catching Fire and seeing more games played, even though I’m sure it’s not another Hunger Games because that would contradict the Hunger Games. This is a dystopian book that I did enjoy and they seem to either be make, break, or meh for me. The Hunger Games will definitely stay with me so if you couldn't tell I enjoyed it... immensely.


Cover Thoughts: I honestly have no feelings towards the cover other than the fact that I want a Mockingjay pin. Other than that it’s bland and fits the story. It’s pretty meh of a cover for me.